In this article, the author considers the relationship of law, morality and reconciliation. Intrigued by the political and ethical stances taken by Arendt and McCarthy, the author supports notions of detachment, slowness and social reconciliation concerning contemporary political and ethical questions.

Correspondence: Karin van Marle Department of Legal History Comparative Law and Legal Philosophy Faculty of Law University of Pretoria Pretoria, 0083 South Africa E-mail: karin.vanmarle@up.ac.za

Received: 21 Aug. 2009 Accepted: 06 Oct. 2009 Published: 16 Dec. 2009

Note: This is a reworked version of a paper delivered at a conference What is law without morality? at the University of the Western Cape in August 2007 hosted by the Department of Religion and Theology and the Ecumenical Foundation of South Africa in consultation with the Faculty of Law. My gratitude to the organisers for the opportunity. My thanks also to the anonymous referees for their insightful comments. Any mistakes do, of course, remain my own.